Chapter 8: The Meetings

Research base Alpha, First Moon of Enchantment, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Adora sighed. The ships - or shuttles, as Entrapta called them - looked a little like Darla. Just a little. Same grey colour, all angled as well - but where Darla had two pods on her sides, this shuttle had none. And it was much smaller, of course; its bridge had only room for five people or so, and Adora would probably hit her head if she wasn't careful as She-Ra.

And they were all broken. At least they looked broken to Adora. One was basically just a frame, two more had their hind parts - their aft sections - dismantled, one looked like it had been shot at by a tank platoon, and the last one, the one Entrapta and Carter were checking out, looked as if it had been patched together; the colour of some parts was off a little.

"We'll never get Entrapta out of here," Catra mumbled next to her.

"Yeah," O'Neill agreed. Well, he had just said the same.

"To be fair," Daniel added, "more spaceships is a good thing, right?"

"Those are shuttles," O'Neill told him. "No hyperdrive."

"Oh."

"Do they have weapons?" Catra asked.

"Looks like they have smaller versions of Darla's guns," Bow told them as he passed them on his way to Entrapta and Carter, carrying a piece of crystal from one of the other shuttles with Glimmer. "Hidden in the bow section."

"Pointless then," Catra said. "Those won't be able to scratch a frigate's hull."

"Really?" Daniel sounded surprised.

"Those are a thousand years old. At least a thousand years old," Catra explained.

"You could upgrade them," Daniel said. "You did upgrade Darla, didn't you?"

"Yes," Catra said. "But that was mostly Entrapta's project."

And Hordak's, Adora knew.

"Well, it seems this might be her new project," O'Neill said.

Catra scoffed. "Waste of time. We don't need shuttles. We've got frigates for space and orbital bombardment, and we have flyers on the ground. And tanks."

"I wouldn't dismiss a fast transport as useless," O'Neill objected. "There are situations where you might need one."

To Adora's surprise, Catra nodded. "Right. But most of them we can probably handle with Darla."

"Darla can't be in two locations at once, though."

Adora frowned. O'Neill was right again, but… that would mean letting others risk their lives in the sort of commando operation that was perfect for her and her friends. At least she couldn't imagine any other use for shuttles that a frigate with their transporters could do as well. Of course, she could handle a war by herself, but… She-Ra was Etheria's protector. If anyone had to go on such missions, it was her. On the other hand, if they had such shuttles, she could go on a mission without dragging Darla and her friends with her. "Good point," she said with a faint smile. Which she lost immediately when she saw that Catra was frowning at her. "What?"

"You're thinking stupid thoughts."

"I'm not!" Adora protested.

"Yes, you are." Catra took a step closer and stood in front of her, staring at her eyes. "You're thinking of taking such a shuttle for a stupid mission, aren't you?"

Adora blinked. How did Catra know? And how could she deny that without making it obvious that she had been thinking that?

"I know you." Catra shook her head, then stood on the tip of her toes and grabbed Adora's face. "And I won't let you risk your life without me. Never again. You hear me?" She tilted her head to the side, just a little bit.

Adora opened her mouth to protest, and Catra pushed up, kissing her before she could say anything.

Oh. Adora closed her eyes and hugged her lover.

When they broke the kiss and Adora let Catra down on the floor again - she had taken her up sometime during the kiss - both of them were smiling. "But I'm She-Ra," Adora said. "I'm supposed to protect everyone."

"And I'm supposed to protect you from yourself, dummy." Catra smiled, but kept staring into Adora's eyes. She was just so… so...

O'Neill cleared his throat.

Adora jerked, but Catra just turned her head and looked at the man. "What?"

"Nothing."

"So," Daniel spoke up. "You were called She-Ra's consort. Is that a formal position?"

Catra snorted. "No, that's just Third Fleet being stupid."

Adora nodded. "But we're planning to marry soon." Once things stopped coming up that they had to deal with. Such as unexpected visitors from a faraway planet with six billion people.

"We could've married already if you stopped listening to Glimmer," Catra pointed out with a smirk.

Adora pouted. She wanted to get married, but she was She-Ra, Princess of Power. Glimmer had told her several times that marrying without a big ceremony and dinner would be a snub to every princess and prince who wasn't invited.

"Listening to Glimmer?" Daniel asked.

"She wants a big wedding for us," Catra said. "It's political. Probably gonna be as big as the Princess Prom."

"Ah! A state affair." Daniel nodded. "Are there many different wedding customs on Etheria?"

Adora smiled - she had researched that ever since Catra had accepted her proposal. "Oh, yes! Every kingdom has a different way to officiate a marriage. For example, in Bright Moon, it's an official act - you need a representative of the Queen." Or the Queen herself, in their case. "In Plumeria, you just marry and inform others afterwards. It's a very private ceremony. And in Salineas, you have to have a ship's captain marry you. On the ship. And in the Kingdom of Snow, you construct a temple out of ice, before you..."

"This is fascinating. It's using a miniature version of Darla's original engines! Like a tiny Darla!"

Samantha Carter resisted the urge to shake her head. Entrapta was very enthusiastic about their discovery. Sam could understand the feeling, of course, but Entrapta was… well, in a class of her own.

"Why is that fascinating? Both are First Ones designs," Glimmer asked. The queen was leaning against the wall in the shuttle's engine room, watching them work. Or watching Bow, as far as Sam could tell.

"Because you usually construct different engines for different ships," Bow explained. "Just scaling down an engine generally isn't optimal."

"Yes!" Entrapta, held up by her hair, turned. "You lose effectiveness if you simply scale engines up and down. And sometimes, you have an explosion because the material needs a certain thickness to withstand the temperatures an engine generates. So, we can conclude that the First Ones either were bad engineers - and we know they weren't - or they had other reasons to do this. It can't be logistics; the parts are not interchangeable, after all. So, why did they do this?"

"Perhaps they didn't want to spend the money for a new design," Sam speculated. She had been stymied by short-sighted cuts to her budget before, although not often any more since she joined Stargate Command.

"Oh." Entrapta frowned, then nodded. "Right. But that would mean that they didn't value science very much."

"What?" Bow asked.

"In the Horde, we didn't have to worry about money for science," she explained. "If I wanted something, I just asked Hordak, and I got it. Unless it was First Ones tech; those were sometimes scarce."

Oh. Sam had wondered what had made Entrapta join the Horde. An effectively unlimited research budget might have been the reason - it would tempt anyone for a moment at least. And Entrapta did seem to be a little… off when it came to morals. At least that was Sam's impression.

"Ah. Well, it's not the same in the Alliance," Bow said. "We've got a tight budget."

"I know! Hordak complains about it all the time," Entrapta said.

"Well, he's not the Horde leader any more. He doesn't get to rob everyone else for his projects," Glimmer said.

"Technically, those were spoils of war," Entrapta replied. "Or Horde production. I think. We didn't really need much of what the Alliance produced, and First Ones tech was finder's keeper." She perked up. "Though if the First Fleet agrees to supply us, we'll have a much higher budget again!"

"The First Fleet?" Glimmer looked concerned. "Supplying you?"

"Yes! They've got their full supply train, but they don't have many frigates left to be supplied. So, Hordak asked if they would mind sending supplies to us. It would really speed up our research if we had better access to Horde Prime's technology. But they are still debating." Entrapta frowned. "They really need a leader to speed up decisions."

"I think it's fine if they debate and make their own decisions," Bow said.

Sam agreed with that. She didn't know what exactly happened on Etheria, but a former conqueror gaining more followers? Followers with a space fleet? Who were used to blindly obey their leader?

Judging by Glimmer's expression, she wasn't in favour of this either. "And when were you planning to tell us about this?" the queen asked.

Entrapta looked puzzled. "Should I have?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Entrapta shrugged. "It's just for science. You know we're doing research now that we don't have to worry about the war anymore. Although I guess that might have changed now, with the Goa'uld. Do you think we should focus on weapon technology again? I've got a few ideas, and Hordak has had a number of projects that he never had the parts to pursue until now."

"Ah…" Bow looked at Glimmer.

"I think we should discuss that with the Alliance," Glimmer said.

"Right." Entrapta nodded. "Back to tiny engines! I think I could upgrade them like I upgraded Darla's. That would make them faster."

"We'll need a lot of spare parts, though," Sam pointed out. The First Ones had been cannibalising four shuttles to repair the fifth - their supply situation must have been terrible for that to happen.

"Yes. But we can make do with Horde parts. I'm sure that Third Fleet would part with some of theirs if Adora asks them."

"That might be a good idea," Glimmer said. Bow looked confused for a moment, then nodded as well. Sam agreed as well - depriving those apparent fanatics of supplies was likely a good thing.

"Good! We might even be able to install a hyperspace engine on a shuttle if we sacrifice some space and manage to miniaturise them. Not a modern one, but Darla's old one wouldn't be too hard to shrink. We could make a tiny starship!"

"I think we should focus on our discovery here, first," Bow said. "And then on getting our new friends home."

"Right." Entrapta nodded, apparently unfazed. "That means finishing Darla's upgrades. And plot a course to Earth."

"Or to a planet with a Stargate," Sam reminded the princess.

"Yes. But we don't know where those planets are. Perhaps we'll meet some on the way. Although that might also delay us." Entrapta pouted. "We'll have to decide if we should just go full-speed to Earth or look for another Stargate."

And before SG-1's gate validation codes expired. They could contact Stargate Command through the gate using their radios, but the longer they took to open a gate, the more suspicious Stargate Command would be that they had been compromised.

Planning Room, Bright Moon, Etheria, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"I hope you have a good reason to call for an emergency meeting of the Alliance," Mermista complained as she entered the planning room. "I had to sacrifice my first day off after a week filled with budget meetings with the Admiralty."

Catra suppressed a snort. For a ruling princess, Mermista was complaining a lot. Perhaps she should learn to delegate. And to scare her underlings into not annoying her. No one had bothered Catra when she had been in command. Well, Scorpia had, but that was different.

"I'm sure they had a good reason, my love!" Sea Hawk told the princess. "And we got to enjoy a trip together on the Dragon's Daughter VIII!"

"That's another reason they better have a good explanation," Mermista replied - but she was smiling as she said it. So, she wasn't really mad. Or not too mad - the princess was always grumpy. And she carried grudges. Conquer her kingdom and take her runestone one time… Catra clenched her teeth. That hadn't been her finest hour. Even if it had been a finely planned and executed offensive.

"And good evening to you, Mermista, Sea Hawk." Glimmer was smiling, but her tone was full of sarcasm.

"Hello!" Adora said with an honest smile. Catra nodded, as did Bow.

"Yeah, yeah, good evening. What's this about?" Mermista took her usual seat.

"Hello, everyone!"

"Hi!"

Perfuma and Scorpia had arrived. Catra nodded at them.

"Wildcat!" Scorpia made a beeline towards her.

Catra grimaced. "Wait…"

But the other woman picked her up and swung her around. "Haven't seen you in a while! You never visit!"

Yes, because she wasn't keen on revisiting the Fright Zone. Too many bad memories. Catra pushed against Scorpia's shoulders, but the princess's grip was too strong. Without actually fighting, she couldn't escape.

Fortunately, the woman started hugging everyone else before she broke Catra's ribs. "She-Ra! Bow!"

"Ack!"

"Good evening." Netossa and Spinnerella just took their seats. They looked serious - well, they were the most experienced members of the Alliance; they would expect an actual emergency.

And there was Frosta, glaring at Catra as expected. Catra smiled at the kid. Sure, she had wrecked Princess Prom, but that had mostly hurt the little princess's ego. It wasn't as if she had conquered her realm or something. She didn't need to feel too bad about that - most princesses could do with some humble pie.

As everyone sat down, Catra leaned against the wall behind Adora, ignoring her lover's frown. She wasn't a princess. She was just with Adora. Sea Hawk and Bow might sit down with the princesses and King Micah, but Catra was fine standing.

"Where's Entrapta?" Netossa asked.

Glimmer sighed. "She's coming. We made a recent discovery that has her… fascinated. A discovery that has repercussions for everyone on Etheria. Actually, two discoveries."

Catra noticed that Netossa relaxed a little upon hearing that. Had she expected that Entrapta would be the reason for the emergency meeting?

"I'm not going to like either, am I?" Mermista asked.

"Probably not," Glimmer admitted. "Alright. First, remember the First Ones ruins we discovered in the Whispering Woods?"

"Yes!" Perfuma nodded. "You told me about them since it bordered my kingdom. You went and explored them?"

"Don't tell me you found another superweapon!" Mermista blurted out.

"Not quite. We found a Stargate," Glimmer told her. "A gate that connects to other gates on other planets."

"What?"

"Like the portal Hordak was building?" Scorpia asked.

"No." Glimmer looked at Bow.

"It's part of a network spanning the galaxy," he explained. "Built millions of years ago. You can connect from one gate to any other gate in the network if you know the gate address, and then you can travel to the other planet in an instant."

"Millions of years ago?" Frosta asked.

"Yes."

"And I guess while Etheria was in Despondos, it wasn't working," Netossa said. "But now whoever is on the other side of such a gate has realised we're back?"

Well, she had always been the sharpest amongst the princesses. Catra nodded.

"Yes," Glimmer said. "And there is a war being fought out there."

Mermista groaned. "Another war?"

"How do you know that?" Frosta asked.

"We met a group of soldiers who were travelling through the gate," Adora told her. "They arrived here by accident."

"And they told you about the war?" Mermista scoffed.

"Melog confirmed part of their story," Catra said. "They've been fighting the Goa'uld."

Mermista scoffed again. Catra narrowed her eyes. Melog hadn't done anything to her.

"Anyway," Glimmer spoke up again. "The Goa'uld are an Empire of body-snatching snakes. Small parasites that burrow into your body and take control of it. They have enslaved lots of people and rule many planets."

"An empire of body-snatchers?" Mermista stared at them.

"Do you have proof for that?" Netossa asked. She had wrapped an arm around her wife.

Right. Spinerella would remember being controlled by Horde Prime. Catra pressed her lips together and pushed her own memories away. It was in the past. Horde Prime was dead.

"Melog confirmed that," Adora replied. "And, well… we saw one of the snakes. Well, a larva of a snake."

"We've secured the gate, so no travel is possible, so we aren't in immediate danger," Glimmer explained. "But the Goa'uld also have ships. And they want to conquer the galaxy."

"Like Horde Prime," Bow added.

"And like Horde Prime, they destroy planets that resist them," Adora said. "We can't let that happen! We have to fight them!"

Catra agreed. The Goa'uld would find Etheria sooner or later if Melog was right, and Catra would prefer to fight them on their own turf.

"We just finished a war that lasted for years!" Mermista protested. "It almost destroyed Etheria!"

"Technically, by defeating Horde Prime, Adora finished a war that had lasted a thousand years," Bow said, then cringed when everyone stared at him.

"That's not the point. The point is that…"

The door opening interrupted Mermista, and Entrapta entered. "Hi, everyone! Sorry for being late! I was showing Hordak the tech we recovered, and we kinda lost track of the time!"

Hordak? Catra tensed.

Behind Entrapta, Hordak entered the room, nodding at the princesses.

"What is he doing here?" Mermista blurted out.

"Providing advice, of course," Entrapta replied as she took her own seat, her hair pulling out a chair for Hordak. "So, where were we?"

Guest Quarters, Bright Moon, Etheria, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"So, team!" Jack O'Neill clapped his hands as he stepped into the centre of their room. "What did we learn today?" Carter hadn't found any listening devices, and they really needed to discuss things.

"That Etheria was once a test site for genetic experiments?" Daniel asked, looking up from his notes.

"That magic likely has a genetic component that can be manipulated by genetic engineering?" Carter added.

"That our hosts are more like us than we thought." Teal'c nodded.

Right. Joining the good guys after working for the bad guys would resonate with Teal'c. Jack shook his head. "Close but no cigar!"

"Then what did you learn?" Daniel asked, a little peeved.

"We learned that our hosts have a big fleet of spaceships but limited production capabilities," Jack said. "And a limited pool of personnel."

"Yes?" Daniel looked irritated.

"It means that Earth has something to offer," Jack explained. "We might not have magic, we might not have shiny spaceships, but we have people and industry." They wouldn't have to be the sidekick in an alliance.

"We don't know about the supply capabilities of the former Horde fleets, Sir," Carter pointed out.

"Yep, we don't," Jack admitted. "But we also know that the princesses don't really trust them. And we know that they don't know everything Horde Prime knew."

"Entrapta mentioned bots - robots," Daniel said. "If they can mass-produce them…"

Jack waved his hand. "Yes, yes. But robots aren't people; they can't adapt or innovate." At least he had never met some who did. "And we have six billion people on Earth."

"That number really shocked them," Daniel said. "They have had contact with other planets but were still surprised."

"So, we have something to offer beyond our knowledge of the Stargates." And that was important.

"And the Ancient technology," Carter said. "First Ones technology is advanced but not as advanced as Ancient technology."

That was a temporary advantage at most, though. Once you shared technology, it was lost. Entrapta would quickly catch up, in Jack's opinion. But it was something to offer as well. "So, that's the good news. Earth isn't as far behind as we thought - except for magic. We don't have flying, talking unicorns." Who probably pissed rainbows.

"Or a floating magical city," Daniel added.

"Town. Or village," Carter corrected him. "It sounded like a university with an adjacent settlement."

Either way, the important part was the 'floating'. People back home wouldn't believe this. "So, now the bad news we learned today," Jack went on.

"Bad news?" Daniel asked. "Oh. The cultural differences between Etheria and Earth are more significant than we assumed."

"Yes." Jack nodded. "And that's saying something since Etheria is ruled by magic princesses."

"I do not think the differences are too significant," Teal'c said. "Both Earth and Etheria are determined to fight the Goa'uld. Both have shown honour and welcomed former enemies into their ranks. I do not see any significant problems for forming an alliance."

Jack suppressed a grimace. "Well, that's true. But there are a few things that kinda complicate matters. Like politics."

"Like the leading figures of Etheria being young women," Carter added.

Jack glanced at her. That was actually the least of their problems, in his opinion. The US had dealt with Thatcher just fine. Granted, the Iron lady hadn't been young by any means, but he didn't think the gender of She-Ra or Glimmer would be an issue once the state department got talking to them.

"They were appalled by the concept of sexism, yes," Daniel said. "But that's not the only thing." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "She-Ra and Catra are a couple. And no one acted as if this was unusual - the clones called Catra her consort. And Bow mentioned having 'Dads'. Same-sex relationships might not carry any stigma here."

Jack nodded. Unlike back home.

"I doubt that our hosts would take kindly to our practice of releasing known homosexuals from service," Daniel went on.

"Yes. That'll be a tricky thing," Jack said.

"To say the least," Carter said.

"Why would it be a problem?" Teal'c asked. "A warrior's gender or taste in mates does not affect their effectiveness in battle."

"Yeah…" Jack sighed. "That's not exactly how some of the people back home think." Certain conservative politicians would be frothing at the mouth when they heard about the 'customs' on Etheria.

"Then they are fools and should be ignored," Teal'c stated.

"If only it were so easy," Jack commented. He didn't have anything against gays, as long as no one expected him to be gay or something. Though the idea that someone might be ogling him in the locker rooms… Well, he could handle it. Still…

"And there's the reaction to magic," Daniel went on.

Right. Another hot topic. The fire and brimstone types would go ballistic. "At least there won't be any witch hunts," Jack joked.

"Actually," Daniel said, "witch hunts are still a concern in some countries. And some states have the death penalty for magic. I think the Saudi Arabians executed someone for sorcery a few years ago, though I am not sure."

Great. That was a worse problem than Jack had thought. It was the gulf war all over again - just this time, he wasn't sure if he was part of the prickly natives with archaic laws and customs or the modern allies.

Planning Room, Bright Moon, Etheria, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Another war, where we have to rely on your clones to fight! Clones that tried once already to conquer us." Mermista leaned back and crossed her arms. "Ugh."

"Well, it will mean the clones will have something to do, other than guard Etheria," Bow pointed out.

Adora nodded. She knew that Mermista wasn't happy about having a fleet in orbit that could level her kingdom.

"Fine!" Mermista shook her head. "It's better to fight those Goa'uld far away from here, I guess."

Adora half-expected Sea Hawk to yell about an adventure amongst the stars or something, but he instead leaned closer to Mermista and whispered something into her ear that made her half-smile.

"The Kingdom of Snows cannot and will not provide many soldiers for this, though," Frosta announced. "Our soldiers aren't trained for this kind of war."

"That goes for all of us," Mermista said. "My soldiers are used to fighting on the sea, not in space."

"Not quite," Hordak spoke up. "The training the former Horde soldiers in the Fright Zone received should allow them to easily adapt to this conflict."

That was because he had formed them after Horde Prime's Horde, Adora knew. Deliver a planet and an army to his god.

"But they aren't soldiers any more," Perfuma objected. "You can't just assume that they'll go off to fight another war!"

"We can ask them, though," Entrapta said. "That doesn't hurt."

"Why would they want to go fight a war?" Perfuma shook her head.

Scorpia grimaced. "Well, some of the former Horde soldiers aren't too happy," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "They don't like working the fields or building homes."

Perfuma stared at her with her mouth half-open. "What?"

"I've heard some complaints," Scorpia said. "Nothing serious, but…" She sighed. "I think a number of them will probably join the war."

"The older ones," Catra said, nodding. "They're used to it."

And the ones who liked fighting, Adora mentally added. And those who liked hurting others.

"You should've told me!" Perfuma said.

"I, uh, was about to. But I didn't find the right moment."

"I thought everything was going well! We made such progress with the fields and orchards! And the villages! And they aren't happy?" Perfuma shook her head.

"Most are happy. Very happy!" Scorpia said. "It's just a few who grumble. And soldiers always grumble."

"They aren't supposed to be soldiers any more!"

Glimmer cleared her throat. "Anyway, we can recruit volunteers for our forces. But we'll rely on the fleets, clones and bots for the bulk of our fighting. And probably Earth forces, once we reach them and can form an alliance."

"Sounds good," Netosssa said, nodding. "But who amongst us will go fight the war? It's easy for us two" - she gestured at Spinnerella and herself - "since we don't have kingdoms to rule, but what about you?"

"I'll go!" Entrapta said. "Dryl pretty much rules itself, anyway. And the trip to Earth will be fascinating! So much new technology!" She beamed at Hordak. "You'll love it!"

He nodded at her. "I am looking forward to the challenge."

Adora winced at that. "And speaking of Earth… We need to decide who gets to travel there and negotiate an alliance."

"Glimmer has to go," Netossa said. "She is the commander of our Alliance and Queen of Bright Moon. And you have to go as well - She-Ra is the symbol of Etheria."

Both true.

"She-Ra also is the protector of Etheria," Mermista objected. "We can't send her away if we're at war."

"But She-Ra has the authority to speak for the rest of Etheria, not just the Alliance," Bow pointed out.

"But can I speak for them? I can't really drag them into a war," Adora said.

"We're already in a war according to what you found out," Netossa retorted. "And you have a following. Not just amongst the clones."

That didn't mean she could or should rule them. But she could and should represent their interest. Adora slowly nodded.

Behind her, Catra sighed. But she would come with her, Adora knew. Just as Bow would not let Glimmer travel alone.

"So, the Best Friends squad for diplomacy," Bow said.

"And us!" Entrapta said. "I need to study their technology! And Hordak is my science buddy!"

Adora could see the others exchange glances.

"Bet they're wondering if they feel safer with Hordak and Entrapta staying here or going far away," Catra whispered into her ear.

It wasn't really funny, but Adora snorted anyway.

"Fine," Mermista said. "So, Netossa will be in command of the forces here?"

"With Wrong Hordak, I suppose," Netossa agreed.

"Yes. We'll take Third Fleet with us," Glimmer said.

That made everyone perk up, Adora noticed.

"Good. Anything else?"

Glimmer sighed. "Yes. We visited the First Moon of Enchantment, looking for a First Ones base. And we discovered something that might have unsettling consequences."

"Ugh." Mermista groaned again. "Another enemy? Another superweapon threatening to destroy the planet?"

"No." Glimmer sighed. "It's about the origin of us - our families."

She had everyone's attention now.

"We found out that the base was a research base. And their research was done on Etheria…"

Guest Quarters, Bright Moon, Etheria, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and while witch hunts were often aimed at outsiders, or used as a tool to hurt rivals or enemies, many people sincerely believed that witches were real," Daniel explained. "Tales of magic are found in almost every culture's myths on Earth. And if our hosts are correct, then magic - powers that could achieve the deeds mentioned in the legends and myths - was once real on Earth, and not too long ago - only a few millennia, at most. We thought those tales were, if not completely fabricated, related to advanced technology used by the Goa'uld or other aliens, but this might not be the case."

Samantha Carter, sitting on the bed next to him, nodded. "They could be related to the sort of magic powers the Etherians use." Powers that had a genetic component, if the information they had gained today was correct.

"Yeah," the Colonel said, "and that's the problem. Most people don't have issues with technology."

"Actually," Daniel spoke up, "there's a not insignificant number of people who do have issues with technology, and it's not just minorities like the Amish. Many people feel that technology advances too quickly, leaving them unable to keep up, and..."

"Yes, yes," the Colonel interrupted him. "Computer bad, parchment good. Television bad, books good. But those people aren't going to demand that engineers are burnt at the stake. They won't be a problem when we arrive on Earth with magical princesses in tow." He paced in front of them.

When, not if. The Colonel didn't voice any doubt that they would return to Earth. Of course, that didn't mean that he actually was that certain. Sam suspected he had concerns. But as their leader, he couldn't show them. Even though everyone here knew that nothing was certain when travelling through Stargates. As their accidental arrival on Etheria proved.

"But magic - actual, honest to God, 'turn you into a newt' magic? That's going to ruffle more than a few feathers." He shook his head. "If the Etherians ever watch a televangelist, we will be fortunate if they only leave and don't decide to level his home from orbit."

Daniel laughed at that, but Sam didn't. It might not be hyperbole. "They are our best chance to win this war," she said. "We cannot afford to insult or attack them."

"Indeed," Teal'c added from where he was leaning against the wall. "It would be foolish to let superstition alienate such allies."

"That never stopped a televangelist," the Colonel said. He sighed. "And it's not even the worst thing."

Daniel looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Jack?"

"The Etherians have indicated that they do not intend to keep their presence and existence secret," Sam explained. "And if Earth is to mobilise for war, we have to reveal the Stargates." And everything that entailed.

"Yep." The Colonel nodded. "And while many will love the fact that the Egyptian gods were aliens out to enslave us, how many will now wonder if their own gods were the same?"

"A crisis of faith," Daniel said. "The Biblical wonders certainly would be easily duplicated with Goa'uld technology. Now that we know actual magic exists…"

"And we know there's a magical princess who can turn a giant spaceship into a space plant," the Colonel added. "Who is worshipped as a goddess by a bunch of fanatical clones bred for war."

"She-Ra clearly stated that she is no goddess," Teal'c said.

"But she displayed powers - at least to our current knowledge - that would be considered divine in many religious scriptures," Daniel retorted.

"If all that is revealed at once, the backlash will be terrible," the Colonel said, standing up and pacing again. "Religious nutcases will be screaming their heads off, people will be calling each other's god a Goa'uld, half the world will be either starting a witch hunt or trying to recruit witches, there'll be panic about being bombed from orbit by alien invaders, and people will claim their neighbours are snakes."

"And everyone will be blaming the US for it," Sam added.

The Colonel pressed his lips together and nodded.

"Yet the consequences of this revelation that you describe do prove the need to keep it a secret," Teal'c said.

"Yep. But no one will care," the Colonel told him. "They'll all claim the US should've told everyone from the start about the Stargate."

Sam pressed her lips together. That would have avoided a lot of the problems that they were now facing. It might have led to a disaster, of course - people were not always acting rationally - but only having to deal with Etherians and magic would be far easier.

"Come on, team! We need a strategy to handle this before we arrive on Earth!"

"Jack! We're not in charge of Earth," Daniel protested. "We can't implement any policy."

"But we can make suggestions," the Colonel pointed out. "And we'll be the best experts on the Etherians. The general will listen to us."

But would the president listen to him?

"Honesty seems the best policy," Teal'c said. "The longer a secret is being kept, the more dangerous it becomes to reveal it."

"Unless you can keep it a secret for so long, everyone involved is dead from old age by the time it gets revealed," the Colonel said. "But yes - we cannot count on the Ethrians agreeing to keep this a secret. And we cannot mobilise Earth without revealing that we're in a war with aliens."

And they would have to mobilise Earth if they wanted to win this war. And be prepared for the next - Horde Prime had been stopped by the Etherians, but who knew what other conquerors were active in the galaxy?

They needed a way to handle this. And Sam couldn't think of one right now.

Planning Room, Bright Moon, Etheria, July 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"We're test subjects?" Perfuma blurted out.

"Descendants of test subjects," Bow corrected her. "Well, most of the people present."

Most of them glanced at Hordak, of course, Catra noticed.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded with a smile. "As far as we can tell based on the data we gathered, pretty much every current royal line was the result of First Ones experiments. Originally. There's bound to be some genetic drift over the centuries, perhaps a few new mutations, and some of the original princesses will have intermarried with the new lines, but we can track every princess in this room to an experiment!"

As Catra had expected, not everyone shared Entrapta's enthusiasm about this discovery. She shook her head as Frosta jumped up. "That can't be true! My family was chosen by magic to rule the kingdom!"

"That's probably a myth that was formed - or created - to add legitimacy," Entrapta told the kid.

"No!" Frosta glared at Entrapta. "That's a lie!"

Catra rolled her eyes. If the princess threw a tantrum...

"Frosta," Micah spoke up, "Entrapta isn't lying - she's just telling us what they found on the moon. This isn't her fault."

"Data doesn't lie," Entrapta said with a frown.

Frosta stared at Micah with wide eyes. The king smiled at her, and she sat down with a deep scowl, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I fail to see why you are getting so worked up about this," Hordak spoke up. "Your power has not been changed in any way because of this. If anyone challenges your rule, you can easily deal with them."

Catra winced as half the table glared at Hordak. In a way, Hordak and Entrapta were perfect for each other - both obsessed with science and research. But neither was good at reading a room or understanding others.

"Not everyone rules by force!" Mermista spat. "We're not going to fight our own people!"

Hordak frowned at that. "Why would they attack you? You are the princesses; you are bonded to the Runestones."

"It's not about power," Glimmer spoke up. "It's about legitimacy. If we are the descendants of test subjects and only became princesses thanks to the powers we received in the experiments, then some people might contest our right to rule."

"But unless they can bond to a Runestone, they'll fail," Hordak pointed out.

"Not everyone is bonded to a Runestone," Netossa told him. "Most princesses aren't. Like Spinny and I."

"You aren't ruling a kingdom anyway," Frosta snapped. "You don't have to deal with such challenges."

Right. The kid had probably advisors telling her what to do. Must have had them for years. No wonder she was so worked up about this.

"This could shake the entire society of Etheria," Glimmer said. "Unlike She-Ra, we weren't chosen by Magic - or Etheria."

"I was chosen by a sword manipulated by the First Ones," Adora pointed out with a weak smile.

Catra scoffed. "You were chosen by Etheria or magic, whatever it was, when the sword broke and you could still transform into She-Ra." Adora, of all the princesses, had nothing to worry about her legitimacy.

"But…"

"No buts." Catra shook her head and stepped over to the round table, placing her hands on it. "This changes nothing about what kind of people you are," she told the others. "Your ancestors don't define you. Did you follow your father's example?" she asked Mermista. Without giving the princess time to reply, she nodded at Perfuma. "Do you judge people for their parents' actions?"

Perfuma shook her head. "Of course not! But can we keep ruling a kingdom that was founded on or by naked power?

"Yes?" Hordak looked more confused than ever. "You've been doing this for centuries, haven't you?"

Literally, in the case of Queen Angella.

"Well," Bow spoke up with a sheepish expression. "The ruling lines do go back centuries - to the Age of War - for most kingdoms. One could argue that the sheer time that has passed is legitimacy enough to continue your rule."

"And our Ancestors also ended the Age of War," Glimmer added. "They didn't just keep fighting wars."

"Still…" Perfuma looked torn.

"Ugh! No one will bother you!" Mermista snapped. "Your people love you!"

"As do your people, my love," Sea Hawk was quick to say.

"My father abandoned the realm in the middle of a war!"

"As did most of your people," he reminded her. "Yet you stayed. And triumphed." He smiled. "No one will challenge you. And if they do, I shall smite them down for their presumption and cowardice!"

That seemed to mollify the princess. So much for not fighting her own people.

"Well, I'm mostly ruling the Fright Zone since I'm a former Force Captain and a princess," Scorpia said. "I don't think there'll be trouble - those who disagreed left already - but we're kinda an exception."

And those former Horde soldiers who left could return, Catra knew. That was a potential problem.

"Say, Glimmer," Netossa spoke up. "Did Queen Angella ever say anything about this? She was already around back when it happened, wasn't she?"

Glimmer shook her head. "She never mentioned that. She rarely spoke of her past at all. I thought she was sad about all the people she had seen die, but…" She shrugged.

"Angella rarely talked about her past," Micah said. "But that was because she didn't remember too much. Yes, she lived for centuries, but she didn't have a perfect memory." He smiled at Glimmer. "Your personal impression notwithstanding. She once told me that she had forgotten most about the past centuries and had to rely on notes and archives - just like most of us."

"The archives!" Glimmer spoke up. "Her personal notes!"

Bow and Entrapta perked up at that, Catra noted with a wry smile.

"Yes. We can search them," Micah said. "Now, I think we should talk to our guests."

"Yes." Adora nodded. "You need to meet them." She coughed, "And there are a few things you need to know about them…"